Renting a Scooter in Thailand: Ultimate Guide + Tips!
✔️ Thailand Scooter Rentals Quick Guide
🛵 Best Rental Service – My favorite scooter rental service Bikago is available in Phuket. In Chiang Mai and Pai, I use Aya Rentals. In Koh Samui, I use and recommend Saai Bike rentals, and on Koh Tao, I use DJS Motorbike Rentals.
✅ Is It Legal for Foreigners to Drive in Thailand? It is legal to rent and drive scooters in Thailand, but you need an International Drivers Permit (IDP) as well as an active driver’s license.
👉 Need to Know – Always drive with your helmet on and IDP physically on you. Both for safety reasons and because Thai Police pull tourists over all the time.
📲 Transportation Alternatives – If you don’t know how to drive a scooter I recommend using the Grab taxi app to get around in cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai. It’s just as cheap, and much safer than driving without experience. For intercity travel, you can use 12GoAsia to book all types of public transportation options.
👩💻 Feel free to reach out in the comments below if you have any further questions about driving scooters and motorbikes in Thailand – I always respond!
How Much Does Renting A Scooter in Thailand Cost?
If you’re in any sort of tourist area during the high season, renting motorbikes can be quite pricey. The cheapest I’ve seen a scooter rental go for is 150 Baht per day, but that’s for an old beat-up scoopy. For a standard good-condition Honda Click, expect to pay more like 200-250 Baht per day.
If you’re staying long-term, it’s very difficult to get monthly scooter rentals for a cheaper rate as most shops would rather rent out at a higher daily rate. When I was staying in Pai, Koh Tao, and Koh Samui, I had a hard time finding a monthly rate.
🛵 Scooter Prices: Daily scooter rental prices will vary from 150-450 Thai Baht per day, depending on the model of which scooter you book.
What You Need to Rent a Scooter in Thailand
- Passport: They will ask to photocopy your passport, and in some instances will ask to hold your passport as collateral against the bike (I don’t recommend this!).
- Cash: Very rarely do rental agencies accept credit cards, and if they do it will usually come with a 3-5% surcharge.
- Cash Deposit: Usually 2,000-3,000 Baht will be asked to be forfeited as a deposit instead of your passport.
- Driving license + International Driver’s Permit: Odds are the rental shops won’t ask to see this, but you still need both licenses to legally drive in Thailand.
My Top 19 Tips for Renting and Driving a Motorbike in Thailand
1. Be Wary of the Traffic Stops (And Cops Hitting You Up for “Tea Money”)
Cops in Thailand aren’t likely to set up speed traps and chase down drivers like they do back in the US to issue tickets. Instead, they set up traffic stops, where they either stop every bike visibly driving illegally (no helmet, more than two passengers), or they stop and search every car/motorbike.
Most foreigners get ticketed for driving without a proper license by getting stopped at a police checkpoint. There’s an old reputation of cops drumming up charges on foreigners driving in exchange for “Tea Money” (bribes).
A storied history of tourists bribing the police exists in just about every country I have traveled to. The popular advice for if you think you’re driving completely legally and still being hit up for Tea Money by the cops is to demand to pay at the police station, instead of on the street. It’s not unheard of to pay the cops cash-in-hand at a police stop, but you’ll never know if you’re paying for a real ticket that was filed or just lining the cop’s pockets unless you pay at the official station.
Katie’s Tips ✶
The Thai police don’t chase you down. If you see you’re driving up to a police checkpoint where every car is being stopped, and you know you’re not driving in compliance with all the laws, nothing is stopping you from pulling a U-turn and taking a different route.
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2. Know About the Thai Concept of “Sharing the Road”
Sharing the road sounds like common sense, but it takes on a whole new meaning in Thailand. All over the country, you’ll see signs on the road advertising to “share the road”. What this means is that scooters and motorbikes are expected to drive on the left-hand side of the road, often on the shoulder, and cars take the main bit. If a scooter tries to take up the center of the road in Thailand, they will probably get honked at!
3. Be Aware of the Super Long Traffic Light Stops
Traffic lights in the cities in Thailand can go on forever. In Chiang Rai, I saw one that was red for 90 seconds, and I have a friend who said she saw one that went over 120.
4. Know You Need an IDP (International Driver’s Permit) to Drive Legally
Most foreigners don’t know that they’re driving illegally in Thailand because scooter rental shops don’t ask for proper licensing. Foreigners usually only find out they’ve been driving illegally after they’ve been fined at a police stop! You need an active driver’s license from your home country + an International Driver’s Permit. To get pedantic, you also technically need a motorcycle license, not just a standard driver’s. You must carry a physical IDP and driver’s license with you because police do not accept e-versions.
💳 You can get a physical IDP Delivered to your hotel in Phuket through Bikago in a few hours as long as you have an active driver’s license.
5. Get Travel Insurance (But Know it Can be Voided)
Driving a scooter is one of the most dangerous things you can do on a trip to Thailand, that’s why it’s important to get traveler’s insurance just in case. However, most travelers think as long as they’ve purchased insurance that they’re fully covered, which couldn’t be further from the truth! If you’re found to not be driving legally in Thailand, your traveler’s insurance won’t cover you at all in case of an accident.
→Reasons Your Travel Insurance Might Be Voided
❌ You or your passenger isn’t wearing a helmet.
❌ You’re the passenger of someone driving illegally.
❌ You’re driving intoxicated.
❌ You don’t have your helmet on.
❌ You don’t have a proper license (IDP).
6. Consider Using Grab Instead (If You’re in a City)
Grab is Thailand’s version of Uber, and if you’re in a city like Pai or Chiang Mai, taking multiple Grab trips per day is usually cheaper than renting and driving your own scooter. Also, if you’re not stellar at driving, know that you don’t need to drive your own scooter in Thailand.
Katie’s Tips ✶
If you’re traveling inter-city via trains, ferries, or buses in Thailand you can use 12GoAsia. They accept non-Thai credit cards (which is rare in Thailand!). I use 12GoAsia to book trains ahead of time because all the decent seats sell out fast.
7. Watch Out for the Dogs!
I always drive relatively slow, like max 60 KMPH, even on the highways – There have been some times on a long-flat road where a dog will dart out from nowhere. In Thailand, dogs are everywhere on the street roaming around. They’re not dangerous “street dogs”. The dogs usually belong to someone, but they’re left to their own devices. This leads to a lot of them sadly being hit by cars and bikes. I have seen a dog get hit by a car in Thailand, and it’s not a good experience. I also know multiple people who crashed their scooters due to dogs darting out while driving in SE Asia.
8. Also Watch Out for Snakes
Thailand is the only place where I have seen HUGE snakes on the roads! I have no idea why a snake would need to cross the road, I really don’t, but on a recent drive up from Pai to Ban Jabo village in the mountains I saw three huge live snakes on the highway. Last year on Koh Tao I swear I saw a snake that was at least 2 meters (6 feet) long crossing the road!
9. If You’re Still Learning, Don’t Drive in the Cities
Thailand has good roads and orderly traffic laws compared to other destinations in SE Asia I’ve driven scooters in, that being said I still wouldn’t recommend driving a scooter for the first time in a big city like Bangkok or Chiang Mai. If you’re just learning how to drive a scooter, I recommend somewhere with less traffic. My two favorite places to drive have been Pai and Koh Tao, both sleepy tourist-friendly areas that don’t require driving on big highways to get around.
10. Make Sure You’re Given a Working Bike and Helmet
It never ceases to amaze me what passes for a “working” helmet in SE Asia. You need one to drive legally, so most rental agencies will provide one with your scooter rental, but over 50% of the helmets I’ve received have been mostly for show. Either the chin strap doesn’t clip, there’s no padding on the inner of the helmet, or the visor is so scratched up and old you can’t see out of it – I’ve been given all manner of broken helmets with my scooter rentals in Thailand. If you ask, usually you can get a better helmet.
11. Don’t Forfeit Your Passport for Rental Collateral
Renting a scooter in Thailand usually requires pretty extensive paperwork, at least compared to other SE Asian countries I’ve traveled in like Indonesia and the Philippines, where it’s usually a plain cash deal. In Thailand, they expect rather large security deposits, scans of your passport, and filling out multiple security forms. Some scooter shops want you to forfeit your passport as collateral, which I wouldn’t recommend doing after my passport was held for ransom by a bike shop in Mexico. Instead, most rental shops will accept cash as a security deposit, usually 1-2,000 Thai Baht.
12. Know About the Farang Tattoo (Also Called Thai Tattoo)
Farang Tattoo, or Thai Tattoo, is a cutesy nickname given to scars foreigners get from motorbike crashes or engine burns. I have a huge Farang Tattoo going all the way down my left leg from when I crashed my Motorbike in Bali, and a smaller Thai Tattoo on my right arm from when my motorbike slipped out driving up a hill to Jungle Club on Koh Samui. That one is more embarrassing because I was going less than 1 KMPH, the bike just fell on top of me and we slid down the hill.
Katie’s Tips ✶
The best way to prevent a Thai Tattoo is to drive wearing AGATT – Or, All Gear All The Time. If you drive fully clothed and covered, your clothes will hopefully take the brunt of your falls.
13. Watch Out for Engine Burns
I also have another Farang Tattoo on my right leg from the back of my leg touching the exhaust pipe on a scooter. Exhaust pipes get incredibly hot while you drive. Just one mili-second of your skin grazing the exhaust pipe on your bike will cause a burn. If you always wear long pants while driving your scooter, you can be saved from the worst of the burns.
👉 Note: Whether or not you will burn your leg on the exhaust pipe of your motorbike mostly depends on the design of the bike itself, but it more often than not happens to passenger (Pillion) riders on motorbikes rather than the main drivers.
14. Know That Driving a Motorbike is the Most Dangerous Thing You Will Do in Thailand
A friend of my roommate sadly passed away this month from a scooter crash in Koh Tao – Driving motorbikes in Thailand is no joke! Even if you’re the most cautious driver in the world, you’re still on the road with 18-wheeler trucks, and other scooter drivers who don’t know what the heck they’re doing. It’s super dangerous, and after my crash driving scooters in Bali I have a deep respect (and fear) for driving motorbikes in SE Asia.
15. Splurge for the New Rentals for Safety Reasons
Thailand is the only country I’ve been to in SE Asia that gives you the choice between renting “new” vs “old” bikes for different prices. I crashed my scooter in Bali because I had an older Scoopy Scooter with a bald back tire that slipped out, so now I always pay extra for the newer bikes.
16. Never Raise Your Voice to a Thai Person (No Road Rage!)
It’s a huge faux pas to raise your voice or express aggression in Thailand. For example, if someone cuts you off, which isn’t likely to happen as most people drive politely here, instead of honking and flipping them off (which I might have done back in NYC), it’s better to just let it go.
17. Be Aware of the Thai Concept of “Saving Face” When Asking for Directions
So, there’s a very curious concept in Thailand called “Saving Face”. One of my top Thai travel tips is to be aware that if you pull over to the side of the road and ask for directions, even if the person maybe doesn’t know the correct answer to what you’re asking them, they might direct you to some random place to appear helpful.
This is to “Save Face”, it’s considered more polite to give some sort of answer to a question, even if you don’t know the correct one. I had a fun afternoon being routed and re-routed around Koh Samui looking for a bike repair shop that no longer existed by asking locals for directions.Not everyone will do this, but it’s maybe better to rely on Google Maps than to ask for directions in Thailand!
18. Know That They Drive on the Left Side of the Road in Thailand
Just thought I would mention it since it’s easy to get turned around when switching countries frequently, but in Thailand, they drive on the left side of the road. This is the opposite of how I grew up in the United States, where we drive on the right side.
19. Know Where to Fill Up Gas – Sometimes Petrol Comes Out of Water Bottles!
Petrol stations will get you the cheapest rate for fuel fill-ups, but they’re few and far in-between. Instead, you can find little stands that sell street food and plastic bottles of petrol just about anywhere. The tourist price for a liter of petrol from one of these stalls is 100 Baht, and you can fill up your whole tank for 150 Baht from a proper station, but it’s great if you’re running low on gas.
